Climate and Health Coordinator - Term Limited

THE WORK UNIT:

The Prevention Services Division works with public and private partners across Colorado to improve the health of all Coloradans. Division professionals develop, review, implement and evaluate public health interventions proven to promote healthy living, prevent chronic disease, protect against injury and ensure access to health care and opportunities for a healthy lifestyle. The Division is committed to the professional development, collaborative effort and sustained wellness of its workforce.

The Prevention Services Division is actively building a workforce reflective of the diverse communities we serve. The Division strives to understand the needs of Colorado’s communities and encourages contributions of stakeholders in identifying and solving public health problems. We are committed to providing a respectful, supportive and inclusive work environment that demonstrates our commitment to accept and respect individuals from all communities.

The Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDP), in the Prevention Services Division (Division), plans, designs, implements, and evaluates public health interventions related to chronic disease and related risk factors, with a goal of improving health-related quality of life for all Coloradans. Special emphasis is placed on evidence-based practices, analyzing and making data and evidence-informed decisions, capacity-building, partnerships, and integration between program efforts for efficiency and effectiveness. The HPCDP Branch includes Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other related Dementias, Comprehensive and Colorectal Cancer Control, Healthy Eating and Active Living, Tobacco Education, Prevention and Control, the Cancer, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Disease Grants Program, and Healthy Communities.

The Healthy Communities Unit collaborates across the Branch, Division and Department and across multiple sectors to advance evidence-based policies and environmental change strategies to impact community health across the lifespan. The conditions of the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, and age affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Many health risk factors share the same systemic causes, such as poverty, economic instability and neighborhoods and built environments that lack opportunities for physical activity, transportation safety, access to nutritious foods, and social connectedness. As we seek to address these crucial issues, we commit to being responsive to the reality that not all people and communities have access to healthy environments. The Healthy Communities Unit is committed to advancing healthy, safe, connected, and resilient communities for all Coloradans.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING: Climate and Health Coordinator - Term Limited.

The Climate and Health Coordinator provides expertise and builds partnerships to advance community-level, public health, and built environment policies and practices to promote healthy, resilient communities. The position promotes awareness and implementation of evidence-based policies, systems, and practices to address  climate-related health impacts in the context of the social, structural, and economic conditions that shape people’s health. This position maintains knowledge of the evidence base, surveillance data, and best practices and trends in the field and advises others on how to use these policies and practices. The position develops and provides ongoing technical assistance on climate-related health impacts and related topics and is responsible for the coordination and continuation of partnerships with state and local organizations to enhance collaboration and identify opportunities to promote public health, community-level, and built environment strategies. This position collaborates with other Prevention Services Division programs in the Health Promotion Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDP), Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and across the Department to further public health goals.

What you will be doing: 

• Build and strengthen partnerships with state and local organizations to advance equity, enhance cross-sector collaboration, and identify opportunities to promote public health, health equity, and resilience.

• Provide training and technical assistance to local public health authorities and other sectors on the  social, structural, and economic conditions that shape people’s health and climate-related health impacts, with a focus on communities and groups that are most impacted.

• Build state and local capacity to implement the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework.

• Serve as a subject matter expert in local and state public health planning policies and procedures related to the built environment to identify context-appropriate climate adaptation strategies focused on populations most impacted by the health effects of climate change. This includes local land use policies, connections to health equity, and knowledge of the evidence base, surveillance data, and promising practices and trends in the field.

• Identify and implement work plan activities that lead to achieving grant milestones and goals to address climate-related health impacts.

• Build mutually beneficial relationships and engage communities with lived experience of climate-related health impacts. 

• Support the development of accessible and effective public health communications and strategies that reflect the needs of communities disproportionately impacted by climate-related health impacts.

• Support the implementation of public health strategies and processes to improve state and local capacity to plan for climate-related health impacts.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Technical Assistance and Subject Matter Expertise

• Community and Partner Engagement

• Program Coordination

• Other Duties as Assigned

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT:
This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application. 

CLASS CODE & CLASSIFICATION DESCRIPTION: 

NOTE: An applicant may meet the minimum qualifications for this job in one of two ways: They may qualify through their work experience alone or through a combination of education and work experience.

A combination of related education, graduation from an accredited college or university in urban planning, public health, public policy, environmental policy, climate change, sustainability, or a field of study closely related to the work assignment and professional experience in public health, community-level, and built environment strategies to enhance health outcomes and address climate-related health impacts, providing technical assistance, program coordination and implementation, and coordinating multi-sector partnerships equal to Six (6) years.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

In addition to the minimum requirements, the successful candidate in this position will have the following highly desirable experience and competencies: 

• Experience applying public health community-level strategies to address health, community resilience, or climate-related health impacts.

• Demonstrated knowledge of the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) Framework.

• Experience providing training or technical assistance to groups and individuals;

• Strong customer service and interpersonal skills, responsiveness, credibility and confidence;

• Demonstrated proficiency in working collaboratively to build diverse multi-sector partnerships;

• Flexibility and adaptability; ability to take initiative and adapt to changing priorities and assignments while still meeting established deadlines.

• Demonstrated program coordination skills, including contributing to the implementation and coordination of work plans to address climate resilience.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex information clearly to diverse audiences, including community groups and organizational leaders.

• Excellent problem-solving skills, including the ability to develop creative solutions;

• Understanding of community-level and built environment context and how those elements impact health, including an understanding of social, structural, and economic conditions and identifying strategies to enhance those conditions in the context of climate change.
  
  

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• A pre-employment background check will be conducted as part of the selection process.

• This position will have a hybrid workplace options available but will still be required to report to the listed address at the discretion of the supervisor and based on business need.

• This position requires travel approximately 10% bi-monthly to attend meetings with stakeholders and/or other partners, conducting site visits to those funded to support programmatic work. Some travel out of state may be required by CDC funding or to attend professional development trainings or conferences.

APPEAL RIGHTS:

An applicant who has been removed from an employment list or removed from consideration during the selection process may request a review by the State Personnel Director.

As an applicant directly affected by the results of the selection or comparative analysis process, you may file a written appeal with the State Personnel Director.

Review of the completed, signed and submitted appeal will be timely on the basis of written material submitted by you, using the official appeal form signed by you or your representative. This form must be completed and delivered to the State Personnel Board by email atdpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.uswithin ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgment of the Department’s action.

For further information on the Board Rules, you can refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, atspb.colorado.gov/board-rules.

A COMPLETE APPLICATION PACKET MUST INCLUDE:

• Completed State of Colorado application.

• If using education to qualify for this position a copy of your transcripts (unofficial acceptable) or diploma must be provided with application. Transcripts must be attached to your colorado.gov/jobs application.

• If you are a veteran, a copy of your DD214 must be attached to your colorado.gov/jobs application.

THE SELECTION PROCESS:

1. All applications that are received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications proceed to the next step.

2. Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process.

   • Part of, or all of, the comparative analysis for this position may be a structured application review, which involves a review of the information you submit in your application materials by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) against the preferred qualifications.

3. A top group, up to six candidates, will be invited to schedule an interview with the hiring manager.

E-Verify: CDPHE uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

ADAAA ACCOMMODATIONS:

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator at cdphe_benefits@state.co.us or call 303-692-2060, option 5.